UNO appears as the September 17, 2011 opponent on Birmingham Southern's football schedule.

http://www.bscsports.net/schedule.aspx?path=football&schedule=92&

The athletic department has been dropping hints about football next year and the schedule, etc. But this is the first confirmation that we will be playing as an NCAA program next season.

There is a lot of uncertainty right now and the athletic department has to sort through it once the committee appointed by the LSU board to oversee operations in the interim gets up to speed.

My thoughts?  It's unlikely that we can just simply reverse course and go backt o D-I.  Regardless of Ryan's actions or motives, there was a huge problem with the way our athletic department was managed and it was bleeding red ink.  To comply with D-I requirements, six sports had to be added.  As it is, three have to be added for next year in D-III.

I think we will continue our reclassification process, add football, women's soccer and women's golf.

I think we will remain in D-III for the foreseeable future and any future moves to reclassify will be up to our next permanent chancellor.

But that's just one fan's opinion.

UNO's club team opened its season with a 39-20 victory over South Alabama's club team in front of 2,639 fans at Pan American Stadium in New Orleans.

Great crowd and a fun game.

It's assumed that next year's inaugural D-III squad will be made up of many of these players.

Quote from: Ralph Turner on September 07, 2010, 12:55:37 PM
As I read the Shreveport papers, I thought that LSU coverage dramatically overshadowed Centenary's, even in CC's home town.

LSU coverage overshadows both Tulane and UNO in the Picayune.  Heck, there were times when LSU coverage seemed to overshadow the Saints!  (Pre-Lombardi trophy days  )

The extent of the media coverage is the big unknown.  I think that is part of what was behind the UNO guys sitting in on the Tulane pressbox.

As Tacttm1 pointed out, UNO has always struggled for media coverage.  There is a feeling that, despite the drop to D-III, adding football will be enough of a "story" to warrant some coverage.

Now, will it be a small little paragraph in the Picayune's "State Wrap-Up" section after every game (LC gets that much)?  Or will they provide some in-depth coverage somewhere in between the state wrap-up and the extensive coverage that LSU and Tulane get?

I think most UNO fans expect it to be closer to nothing than to the coverage that LSU and Tulane get.  But a little bit more (game previews, game accounts, stats and a pic or two) would be nice.

The sports director at the local ABC affiliate has always been a "friend of UNO" and has consistently provided the best coverage.  Will that continue for a D-III program?

A lot of questions.  But also a lot of opportunities.  I think UNO is doing the smart thing by trying to get out in front of that.

I think it was more to see how the Tulane SID and media relations department works with the local New Orleans media on game day. 

While the scope of the program certainly won't be near that of Tulane, they will be dealing with (and wanting coverage from) the same media outlets in New Orleans.

The comparison with La College probably makes sense on the surface.  But I'm not sure of the extent of media coverage of LC football in central Louisiana - certainly the Alexandria paper, a local radio station and a television station or two.

At least initially, despite being D-III, the hope is that UNO football is a decent enough story to be covered by all of the local news stations (radio and TV) in the New Orleans market, the Times Picayune and a number of much smaller localized papers.

So I don't think it was such a bad idea to go see how Tulane runs its press box.  And I think that's all this was.

The tweet was a tease to build interest.

http://www.nola.com/uno/index.ssf/2010/08/university_of_new_orleans_char.html

Article in today's Times Picayune on UNO's plan for the transition and the addition of football, women's soccer and women's golf by next season.

Appreciate that sentiment guys.

Which I guess leads into the question...

How do other ASC schools feel about UNO becoming a member?

There has been a major concern among UNO fans that we were not a good fit for D-3 in general and any conference in particular because of our size and the fact that we are a public university whereas the majority of D-3 and certainly the majority of the two closest Southern conferences are small, private universities.

Would other ASC schools welcome UNO?

Kelly, thanks for the reports on the scrimmage.

I've looked at the LC roster on the website and there are a good number of New Orleans area kids listed.  So I agree that the talent pool is pretty deep in New Orleans metro high schools.  I think that UNO, with the availability of TOPS and the affordable tuition, will do just fine and will create a lot of opportunities for good football players, who can't afford to go to an expensive school out of town, to continue playing the game.

We still have a long way to go, though.

But thanks again for the reports and the kind words.

Ralph - thanks for the welcome.

Quote from: Kelly Boggs on August 22, 2010, 06:08:56 PM
Well for not being an official football team, UNO was/is organized. I counted about 8 coaches and 6 trainers. There were about 70-80 players & they arrived on 2 charters. Quite a few fans made the trip up from New Orleans as well. UNO had some decent size, but they were no match for LC. That said, the scrmmage with UNO provided a break from the Cats pounding on each other. All in all, a good day.  

Kelly, I realize you were there as an LC fan and paying attention to your own team, but did anyone from UNO stand out in the scrimmage?  Any observations about the Privateer team?  Did they throw the ball a lot or was the scrimmage more run oriented?

Asking because with club football you really never know what you are going to get.

cru and Ron, thank you both for the warm welcome.

UNO has not been extended an invitation to join the ASC or any conference in D-3 yet.

At the athletics open house a few weeks ago, Champion mentioned that it might be possible for us to join a conference as an associate member, for football only, initially (the ASC as its 10th football member perhaps?), with a full membership for all sports if and when a spot opens up from a school leaving that conference.

No particular details were given.  And right now everything is so fluid in this transition. 

Very strange times as a Privateer fan right now.

UNO fan here - adjusting to our transition to D-III and not sure what to expect.

Yes - UNO has a club team and intends to start D-III football next season.  No details have been forthcoming about the official team, but there is a lot of speculation about how much of the existing club team (coaches, players, equipment, etc.) will transition to the D-III team.  At a recent athletics open house, the club team was well represented - as much as any other official sport.

Over the last few years the club team has been well organized.  The clear intent has been to build a program that was run like an official team, not a club of students who just wanted to play football.  So it's no surprise that they looked impressive for a club team.  Also no surprise that they were no match for Louisiana College's team.  Hopefully, as we either transition to D-III or form a completely new D-III squad, the talent level is upgraded.